Licensed Full-Day Daycare in Lakewood, CA

Full-Day Daycare in Lakewood

As of August 2026

Lakewood's 56 licensed providers lean toward homes: 35 family child care homes against 21 centers, roughly a 62/38 split. Reported capacity totals 1,577 slots, averaging 28 per provider, one of the lower per-provider averages in this batch. Age coverage is strong across the board, led by 89% of providers serving preschoolers and 71% serving school-age children. Providers are licensed through California's Community Care Licensing Division. CloverMap lets families browse Lakewood's verified listings directly.

What to know about childcare in Lakewood

Lakewood is one of the more home-heavy cities in this batch: 35 of its 56 providers are family child care homes, versus 21 centers, putting homes at roughly 62% of the roster and centers at 38%. Parents searching here are more likely to encounter smaller, single-caregiver settings than large center facilities, though a solid 21 centers remain available for families who prefer that format.

Combined licensed capacity across Lakewood's 56 providers is 1,577 children, averaging about 28 slots per provider -- among the lower per-provider averages in this batch, consistent with a roster where family child care homes, which typically serve fewer children per site, make up the majority.

Age coverage in Lakewood is notably strong across every band: 36 providers report serving infants (64%), 36 report toddlers (64%), 50 report preschoolers (89%), and 40 report school-age children (71%) -- the highest school-age share in this batch of cities. That breadth suggests Lakewood families across the full age range, including older children needing before- or after-school-style care, have a wider set of options than in many comparable cities.

Lakewood's providers are licensed through California's Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD), part of the California Department of Social Services. The licensing standards for staffing, safety, and facility conditions apply equally to centers and family child care homes, with CCLD maintaining oversight of every provider on this list for as long as it remains licensed.

Because Lakewood's roster is majority home-based, parents defaulting to a center-only search may be missing most of what's actually available in the city -- starting with family child care homes may turn up more options faster here. ARC EN CIEL PRESCHOOL is one named center among the 56; CloverMap's listings make it easy to compare both formats side by side across every age group.

Lakewood's unusually high 71% school-age coverage is worth calling out specifically: it's the top figure recorded for that age band across this entire batch of cities, which may make Lakewood a comparatively easier city to search in for families whose primary need is school-age rather than infant or toddler care. Put another way, a family relocating to Lakewood from a center-dominated city should expect the search experience to look different here: with family child care homes outnumbering centers by 35 to 21, more of the useful listings will be smaller, residence-based programs rather than the larger, multi-classroom facilities that make up the bulk of the roster in cities like Costa Mesa or Redlands elsewhere in this batch.